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No complaining from me today. I'm too busy being mesmerized. I bought myself the DVD of the new version of Pride and Prejudice, starring Miss Hollow Cheeks herself, Keira Knightley. Wasn't too sure about it. The Samurai has a Jane Austen allergy, so I had to wait until a no-Samurai night to view it. I chose this past Wednesday. Now, bear in mind that I have recently finished reading "Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife." If you haven't read it, let's just say it's Austen-esque, with all the bedroom antics thrown in, including Darcy's large, erm, feet. This means that any version of P&P that I see is now colored by the idea that these are the same people in MDTaW, too. Not just innocent, reserved Lizzie and Darcy anyomre. I wondered if any actors could possibly live up to personifying so much life experience. I needn't have worried. Miss Knightley was good, although she is a bit of a stick. I think most Regency fellers would have thought her undernourished and worried about her health. The rest of the cast was wonderful. Donald Sutherland, Brenda Bletheyn, and Judi Dench are superb, the various Bennet girls were great, and Tom Hollander stole every scene he was in as Mr. Collins. (He's a marvelous, silly character actor.) The fellow playing Bingley even had wonderful Klosky hair. And, oh, my, Matthew Macfadyen as Darcy...well. I truly thought no one could touch Colin Firth's Darcy (even Sir Larry!), but this one is awfully good. I think it's his lovely deep rumbly voice. Or something. I couldn't place this particular actor for a bit, then I remembered him from MI-5 on BBC America. He was excellent in that, too. The Samurai wonders why I love these Austen things. I keep telling him that everything that attracted me to him is in this story. He had me before he ever professed his affection for me, long before he first kissed me. It was his voice when he spoke my name, his eyes meeting mine across the room, the way his hands looked resting on a table, his walk, his laugh, his humor, a hundred small things more easily observed at a distance, but not so apparent close up. We circled each other for a while, and I had a lot of time to watch him and see what I liked. Don't get me wrong--I enjoy the physical aspect of love, too, very much. But without the meeting of our minds and hearts, the joining of our bodies wouldn't mean a thing. This is something Austen fans know well. For me, a smoldering Darcy-esque glance across a crowded room works every bit as well as roses, compliments, or groping. Cheaper and easier, too. |
 
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